Enea Bastianini was one of three riders who lost when the start of the Cota MotoGP on Sunday was delayed.
Last minute chaos urged the race to delay the start of safety grounds as other riders abandoned their wet bikes and returned to the pits for the dry machine.
MotoGP “quickstart” steps – this states “It could be called by the direction of the race if necessary…for example, delay start.” – It was then triggered.
This allows riders to make “Changing the machine” In the pit lane.
Previously, those on wet bikes returned to Dry Ik, lined up in their original grid positions, and there were no ride-through penalties (given if they weren’t late in the start) that would be carried over to the “new” race.
“That’s not entirely correct.”
The original smooth trio of Bastianini, Aiogra and Bloodbinder could have been on the podium if the race started as planned.
“From my side, it’s probably not right,” Bastianini said. “You take a risk so I was with the dry tyres, but at that moment it was still a little wet.
“We tried to do that, but after Marquez left the grid and many riders followed him, we resumed the race, but then resumed in (original) positions.
“And from my side, that’s not entirely correct.”
However, Honda’s Luca Marini – still wet but stayed on the grid – felt that race direction had little choice given the number of people and bikes involved in the confusion.
“I think the direction of the race was in a very good way and we managed it in a safe way, so that’s a good job for them,” Marini said.
Enea Bastianini, Americas Motogp at 2025 Cota
Bastianini: “This bike was the first time I felt good.”
Bastianini was rejected for a potential podium, but he recovered seventh place on the restart and earned the best finish since joining Tech3 KTM.
“I’m happy with my race. It was the best race since the start of the season,” said the former Ducati Cota Race winner.
“I rode it very well from the middle to the end of the race, and this bike was probably the first time I felt good.
“We found a good direction that we should check in for the next round.”
Tech3 Team Manager Nicolas Goyon saw the results as a sign of the future.
“Enea did a good job this weekend. He’s getting better and better on his bike. Seventh place is a huge reward for his job.”
Teammate Maverick Venares overcame a pit lane start in 14th place.